Don’t try this at home! Tom Pidcock shows off his mind-blowing descending skills; Video emerges of Dan Walker being hit by driver, but MailOnline claims “rear wheel caught car’s front wing”; Who’s the best descender in pro cycling? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Tom Pidcock being very good at riding a bicycle: A short history
Ah Tom Pidcock, you’ve done it again. And while I take a short break from watching that LA video on repeat all morning I thought I’d take a dip into the archives to create a live blog post in celebration of the young lad from Yorkshire’s bike-riding brilliance…
Skids aren’t just for kids. 📷: kev fox pic.twitter.com/r5ikRocIGW
— Tom Pidcock (@tompidcock) May 28, 2017
And it turns out with someone as prolific as Pidcock you only have to go back a few days to find some gold…
> Tom Pidcock showcases “absolutely mint” cyclocross skills – on time trial bike
Fairly successful off-season then, Tom? Yeah, not bad just went to LA, filmed a video that broke the cycling internet, took Sa Calobra’s KOM and raced a bit of ‘cross…
> Tom Pidcock smashes Sa Calobra KOM by nearly two minutes
[📷: Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
> How fast!? We take a look at Tom Pidcock’s Alpe d’Huez-conquering Strava file
> History maker Tom Pidcock solos to rainbow jersey at cyclocross worlds
> Tom Pidcock wins Olympic mountain biking gold for Team GB in Tokyo
23 years old…
Demon descending
You’re probably alright for tips, Tom, but if you fancy, Jamie’s got some for you…
Who's the best descender in pro cycling? (POLL)
Let me set the scene. It’s March 18th, Milan-San Remo has quietly been meandering its way to the Med for the past six hours, but now the peloton is powering up the Poggio. Near the top and Mathieu van der Poel jumps, Wout van Aert firmly clamped on his wheel. Then, in a flash of Ineos branding Tom Pidcock darts past with Matej Mohorič, Peter Sagan riding his last San-Remo and Julian Alaphilippe in tow. Now that’s something to get excited about…
We can’t wait to see Pidcock take on the famous descent of the Poggio, the same slopes where last year Mohorič (and his dropper post) escaped to victory…
An excellently-breathless 3 minutes of commentary to match Mohorič’s electrifying Poggio descent. Elevates it. pic.twitter.com/eOJONh1ov3
— Graham Willgoss (@GrahamWillgoss) March 20, 2022
Which leaves me wondering who is the peloton’s best descender? Alaphilippe’s got credentials..
Name a better descender than @alafpolak?
After losing touch with the rest of the GC favourites on the Col du Galibier, Alaphilippe had work to do on the descent… pic.twitter.com/Dyw7RBrjKC
— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) July 25, 2019
As does Sagan…
La meilleure manière de relancer sa carrière, c’est porter le maillot arc-en-ciel: message reçu 5/5 par Peter Sagan, qui nous gratifie d’un enchaînement attaque monstrueuse/descente de fou pour aller gagner le titre mondial pic.twitter.com/wQtncC0crk
— Tim Drct (@DrctTim) May 22, 2021
But who’s the king of them all?
Video emerges of Dan Walker being hit by driver, but MailOnline claims "rear wheel caught car's front wing"
We’re back here again…
> Dan Walker “glad to be alive” after being hit by a driver while cycling
The Sun got hold of dashcam footage of the incident (available here) which has since been picked up by the Mail, whose online branch came to the conclusion it showed the presenter knocked down “when rear wheel of his bike caught car’s front wing”. A conclusion criticised on social media…
There is no low our carbrained media will scoop down to degrade vulnerable road users. pic.twitter.com/NPbltjgAKy
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) February 22, 2023
The driver whose dashcam captured the footage told The Sun: “It was quite shocking — certainly something you don’t see every day. I checked the dashcam footage later and realised I had captured the moment.
“He’s lucky to be alive. Had the car carried on he would have been crushed beneath it. It doesn’t bear thinking about. I’m glad he’s OK. He’s such a lovely guy.”
Anyway, back to MailOnline where unbelievably the top comments (yep, we know we really shouldn’t bother) include…and have tens of thousands of likes between them…
This is insane, who attempts to cycle round a four lane highway when there’s a completely separate cycle way especially built right beside it? Honestly, some cyclists really do not help themselves.
Why didn’t he use the cycle track and underpass to the left, specifically made for cyclists?
Should be illegal to not use a cycle path when it is provided
Will he come out and explain why he didn’t use the cycle lane?
Depressing indeed.
Parcelshelfcameras
Two steps behind the comments as usual, you’ve all been discussing the Dan Walker footage and the Mail’s coverage already. Anyway, the best thing to come from it, our favourite topic — pointless pedantry…
Einer Rubio wins stage three summit finish at UAE Tour
Victory for birthday boy Einer Rubio 🥇🎂
The Colombian wins solo on Jebel Jais on @uae_tour Stage 3.
_________
🇦🇪 #UAETour pic.twitter.com/JiLW8SlUQK— Velon CC (@VelonCC) February 22, 2023
Jebel Jais is usually the UAE Tour of summit finishes — 90 per cent boredom followed by a short burst of fireworks near the end. In truth it’s too easy for the pros, the shallow gradients and smooth road surface mean a large group reaches the top.
And again this year a large group did reach the top… the difference? Einer Rubio, the Colombian rider for Movistar’s daring attack with 10km stuck and he took the victory. The gap reached a minute but the chase behind never had the necessary urgency to pull him back, meaning Remco and co. were left to sprint for second.
Remco did indeed win that sprint ahead of Adam Yates, the Belgian taking the race lead.
Today’s result sees @Harm_VH move up to 6th on GC and @andreaslek into 7th after the first mountain top finish ⛰️ #KeepChallenging #UAETour pic.twitter.com/RL0561Y7fG
— Team DSM (@TeamDSM) February 22, 2023
Right, back to the sprints until Sunday…
When arm warmers fight back...
Arm warmers will stick to, and rip off, scabs. You guys are supposed to warm me of such things 😂 pic.twitter.com/XtJZMGcSKg
— Krista Doebel-Hickok (@KristabelDH) February 22, 2023
Reaction to "insane" Tom Pidcock descending footage
This is insane massive respect https://t.co/bQdHZNvFzb pic.twitter.com/X3vdm6KOBG
— Dan bailey (@Bailey83Daniel) February 22, 2023
Plenty of love for Safa Brian with the camera too…
Who was just as fast following him down with a camera…That person deserves as much if not more credit.
— Broichan (@MikeCassie) February 22, 2023
Here’s a decent vid of his fastest run on the Tuna Canyon descent…
I think we know who the king of descending is now. Mind blown.
Presca sportswear the latest British bike industry brand to close
It’s a tough ol’ time for bike brands isn’t it…
Off the top of my head, in recent times, we’ve reported on Look mum no hands! closing, UK bike sales falling to the lowest level in 20 years, the closure of Specialized’s inclusive women’s cycle clothing brand Machines for Freedom, Milltag entering voluntary liquidation, Specialized slashing jobs, women’s cycling clothing brand VeloVixen entering liquidation (but subsequently bought by Stolen Goat)… and that’s just since the turn of the year…
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the best descender of them all?
Motorists blame crash victim Dan Walker for not riding on underpass cycle lane – described by locals as "filled with broken glass"
Could you keep up? Tom Pidcock shows off his mind-blowing descending skills
No. No we couldn’t keep up… even if Jamie has hit 100km/h downhill, taking these Los Angeles twists and turns at 60km/h plus is a completely different game entirely.
The peloton’s king of descending (Matej Mohorič may disagree) Tom Pidcock met up with LA’s own downhill hero SAFA Brian on his off-season trip, plummeting down Tuna Canyon. Spoiler alert: they make it down in one piece… thought you might want to know that in advance so you can uncover your eyes…
Those lads are quick…
80km/h and slightly less while bombing around tight bends… “That was a bit sketchy,” Pidcock laughs at the end of the video… “We survived”… All the kudos in the world to the guy filming…
The way my heart just skipped pic.twitter.com/4eUs46fIS2
— Peter. ✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿🚴♂️(he/him/his) (@PBXscribes) February 21, 2023
If ever there was an excuse to watch this again (for the 7,846th time)…
“It’s beautiful to watch a confident descender… but it still leaves you with your heart in your mouth!” 😳
Simply 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 (or terrifying) from Tom Pidcock 🤩#TDF2022 | @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/ZfnEkzdzN4
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 14, 2022
22 February 2023, 09:05
22 February 2023, 09:05
22 February 2023, 09:05
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Latest Comments
As someone who lived in Exeter many years ago, its deeply disappointing to find that a part of the city elected this moron of a councillor.
Since so many people fail to understand the basic but vital changes made over the years to the HWC, I propose ALL drivers licenses are suspended until they sit and pass a theory test every 2 years to ensure they are kept informed with all the different rules that have been brought in over the years. Its clear that many drivers who think they know the rules are, in many cases, very wrong. If I was trained in using a very dangerous piece of machinery, I would expect to have to be retrained on it to satisfy the safety case to know I was still competent to operate that machine if it changed in any way from its previous standard operating procedure. Why should cars or lorries be any different?
Ed Hill: "I Could Have Killed a Cyclist Today… But Whose Fault Would It Have Been?’ Tell us that you shouldn't have a driving licence, without telling us. Should there be a new law in place that if someone puts a statement in writing (ie online) that indicates their dangerous mis-understanding of road rules that they should recieve points and a fine, or loss of licence depending on severity?
Cyclists ride as if they own the roads; actually, they do own the roads; they are public roads.
@Homebaker, put a 6"spike in the center of the steering wheel of all cars. How fast would they drive?
Great piece, thank you Emily
@Nigel Garage Then sanity returned and he said, "Hang on, are you suggesting that we leave our beautiful Victorian flat in the middle of the greatest city on earth to go and live in some nasty Barratt Homes newbuild in a place so boring that for entertainment the residents constantly troll websites from which they've been banned a dozen times, with a creepy accountant who cyberstalks people's Facebook photos to get material to use for his silly posts on said websites for a neighbour?" "Yes, on second thoughts let's stay here," she said, and they lived very happily ever after.
If drivers find it too hard to give way then maybe it should be a stop sign. That will give them enough time to look.
Just turn your head Ed. Perhaps you've gone so far to the right turning left is the problem?
“Between 2020–24, collisions involving a single pedal cycle and pedestrian resulted in 9 pedestrian deaths and 738 serious injuries in Great Britain. This isn’t anti-cycling. It’s pro-safety and good road design. If London can do it, Exeter can too.” In the same period there were around 6000 fatalities and 115000 serious casualties on the roads generally. Bicycle users are therefore demonstrably less dangerous than other road users, and perhaps if Ed is "pro safety" he ought to look to at the other 99% of road users. Maybe he could start with people making a social media posts while driving.
54 thoughts on “Don’t try this at home! Tom Pidcock shows off his mind-blowing descending skills; Video emerges of Dan Walker being hit by driver, but MailOnline claims “rear wheel caught car’s front wing”; Who’s the best descender in pro cycling? + more on the live blog”
I presume that Pidcock and co
I presume that Pidcock and co were riding on a closed road…?
AidanR wrote:
Don’t know if it was closed but you can see on the road at various points there are one way signs (and looking up Tuna Canyon it has been one way for some time due to mudslide damage narrowing the available space) so they weren’t going to encounter oncoming traffic.
And presumably the car they
And presumably the car they meet at the bottom had just driven down to check it was clear and would have communicated that to them too? There appear to be a couple of minor tracks leading off to the side so it wouldn’t be 100% foolproof but would further reduce the chance of any unexpected encounters.
It might have been a more
It might have been a more comfortable watch if I’d read these comments first. Still, that rear wheel slide at 1:13 was hairy…
At the start at 0:35 there
At the start at 0:35 there are clear 2way signs and around there there are rear facing traffic signs. But even in one way parts in right blind turns it seems hard if not impossible to fully stop in case of an obstacle.
This is great riding, but there is a reason road cycling racing takes place in closed roads. This video is just like posting a supercar racing down an empty public mountain road to me.
Fair points but I think we
Fair points but I think we can’t really tell how much of a set up this was, when they get to the end they meet their car that presumably descended before them to check for obstacles and gave them an all clear, for all we know they might have had a “blocker” car behind them as well to make sure that nobody came up on them from behind, in which case they effectively had a closed road (not that anyone but a pro rally driver could have matched their pace, one imagines). Pidcock is a sensible lad, I doubt he would have been riding like that unless he had pretty good guarantees that there were no surprises coming.
Further to yesterday’s news
Further to yesterday’s news about Dan Walker, leaving aside the helmet debate the Sun now have rear dashcam footage of the incident showing that Walker was riding round the outside lane of a roundabout when a driver joining from his right switched lanes sharply without any indication and ran straight into the back of him. Despite this the Daily Mail describe this as “the moment Dan Walker clips car with his back wheel.”
Rendel Harris wrote:
Pointless pedantry alert: how can you have a “rear dashcam” as the “dash” is only at the front of the car.
Steve K wrote:
So what should we call video from bikes?
Mine would be handlebar mount cam and seatpost cam.
hawkinspeter wrote:
local police call them dash
local police call them dash cams, as you have to follow the dashcam reporting link to report them.
also arent most “dashcams” nowadays in cars mounted in front of the rear view mirror ?
Steve K wrote:
Steve K wrote:
See you and raise you. A car’s “dashboard” is no more a piece of wood to stop the driver getting covered in “dash” (mud and gravel thrown up from the horses’ hooves) than a “wing mirror” is usually a mirror attached to the wing. “InstrumentPanelCam” and “RearParcelShelfCam” don’t really work though, do they?
Full disclosure : I call the mirror which is attached to my door the “wing mirror”. The name comes from a time when for various reasons it made more sense to attach a flat mirror futher away from the driver on the wing of the car and some might say we should use “door mirror” for what we have on a modern car, but until such time as I have two mirrors and need to be able to distinguish between them, it’s “wing mirror” for me.
I like the word binacle.
I like the word binacle.
Though very rarely a compass involved…
ktache wrote:
Isn’t that a type of Pokémon?
I thought it was a
I thought it was a metrosexual arthropod….
I believe in binnacles
I believe in binnacles
Now where’s it gone?
That sextant thing
panda wrote:
You are confusing etymology with meaning. The origin of the word ‘dashboard’ may well be as you say (and thanks for that – I had not heard it before) but the meaning now is (or rather the meanings now include) the instrument panel.
Having said that, many cameras in cars are now positioned behind the rear view mirror, so ‘dashcam’ is an inaccurate name in any case. “Car camera” would seem sufficient.
I’m not confusing anything –
I’m not confusing anything – I’m trying (badly it seems) to light-heartedly make the point that the current meaning of a word/phrase can diverge from its original meaning (which was more literal) and that in my view (others may differ) that’s one of the things that makes the language beautiful and that what matters is that people can understand each other.
It would seem natural to me, from a vantage-point perspective, that cameras are installed front and rear in cars (probably as a condition of collision insurance before too long) at the highest point inside the car looking forwards / backwards with an uninterrupted view, so yeah up near the mirror …. but it will still be totally OK to call them a dash-cam …. and “rear dashcam” makes no literal sense at all but it still a perfectly good term!
panda wrote:
Worry not, I took your post as light-hearted and intended mine (both the one you were responding to initially, and my response to you) to be the same.
I’ll say it again: wing
I’ll say it again: wing mirrors are not called wing mirrors because they attach to the wing of the vehicle; they are so called because they provide a view down the wing of the vehicle. It’s common for mirrors to be named for their function, such as vanity mirror, make-up mirror, dressing mirror, etc.
Is it not because, viewed
Is it not because, viewed from above, they look like little wings?
🙂
I must say, I have never quite understood why the panel which is above the front wheel infront of the door is called the “wing”. I guess it makes sense if the wing is the whole side of the car which happens to have a door in it. I do find this stuff interesting – keep them coming.
I look forward to the day when someone describes the Classified Hub system as having the front derailluer inside the freehub. “What’s it derailling?” I will cry …
ShutTheFrontDawes wrote:
Daily Mirror.
Surely when attached to a car
Surely when attached to a car it is a “car-cam,” or “safety-cam”. When attached to a bicycle it is, of course, simply a “snitch-cam”
Mungecrundle wrote:
No, duh, “grass-cam”
Leaving aside the headlines
Leaving aside the headlines of the rag – at least the driver involved is now almost 100% to be found guilty of careless driving with that video. Dont think they will get done for dangerous unfortunately.
I won’t look myself at the
I won’t look myself at the comments in the papers – but I’m sure him wearing black/dark clothing will come up?
The Larger Cyclist wrote:
I didn’t look myself but that seems a very safe bet. Perhaps Mr Walker could point out that the car was black…
Ive mentioned but I think I
Ive mentioned but I think I got away with it
but then I also have some empathy with the view that I dont know why you would put yourself in that mix of traffic on roundabout like that if there was actually an alternative, the alternative would have to be pretty shockingly bad, to make you think the roundabout is the best route option.
Or you might think why should
Or you might think why should the largest, most direct route with the best surface only go to motorists while cyclists are shoved onto mostly badly surfaced unsafe infrastructure that always entails additional distance and elevation. And which in addition is regularly showered with glass splitters by the motorists.
Your answer is might is right, well not everybody believes so.
marmotte27 wrote:
And, also, that it’s wrong for cyclists to ride of the pavement, but fine for them to mix with pedestrians when it suits motorists.
I was thinking that road must
I was thinking that road must be closed. Pidcock has real nerve to lean a bike at high speeds but he’s not suicidal. Was also noticing the good quality audio, it all made sense at the bottom where it turned out to be an arranged meetup rather than spur of the moment GoPro.
Wouldn’t be responsible to do
Wouldn’t be responsible to do that on an open one lane road.
Well, IME, it’s easier
Well, IME, it’s easier leaning a bike hard (40+ degrees) at speed. I always worry it wont come back up on slower hairpins. Envy the motorbike riders who can bring a bike up from impossible angles with the throttle.
The Alps in weekends see Frenchies and Italians practicing their ascending skills on motorbikes and some of them are proper MotoGP.
I once saw a bloke leaning a Harley right down in a bend and sparks off the exhaust (he must have moved the footpegs up) and got away with it
It’s a one way road.
It’s a one way road.
There are multiple markings on road saying that. Plus no entry signs at bottom of descent.
Well done the camera cyclist.
Well done the camera cyclist.
I love watching a fine descent, but they tend to go to the adverts for a lot of them, TdF wise anyway. I know the camera Motos find it difficult to keep up and everything always gets stretched out to a very long line, but…
Fabian Cancellara – TdF 2009.
Fabian Cancellara – TdF 2009. This is some very grainy footage, but it shows the whole pursuit and catch after a puncture that isloated him.
Cancellara’s Descent « An Ordinary Cyclist – YouTube
There is other Eurosport footage that is better quality, but it doesn’t show the better bits…
MailOnline inaccurate and it
MailOnline inaccurate and it’s audience spewing hate. I’m shocked, shocked I tells you. I do wonder sometimes how it feels to work for them, knowing that the entire business model is based on stirring shit, and appealing to the baser instincts of shitty and/or stupid people.
Why any reputable company advertises with them is beyond me.
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
Businesses love dealing with gullible customers
Enforced and unexpected day
Enforced and unexpected day off today.
I have cracked the Ti frame of my good bike. Around the seat clamp area.
Noticed a little bit much play in the seat post when getting off the train this morning, got onto the other platform and came home.
Anyone know a genius artisan who can weld a cracked titanium bicycle frame?
Nooo. First step is get in
Nooo. First step is get in touch with manufacturer they might have someone approved.
Then maybe try one of the UK Ti specialists like Reilly or Engima and ask if they know anyone. Reilly are usually pretty good at replying to non-sales emails after a week or so..
Raleigh, hand welded in
Raleigh, hand welded in Nottingham, back from when they were.
I will check, but I don’t think that whoever now uses the name make high end Ti frames.
ktache wrote:
Lol, no they do not. I had an original Raleigh welded titanium frame, mine lasted two years before terminally cracking so yours has done very well. New frame time for you, or indeed new bike.
This was my bike in 1995.
This was my bike in 1995
This was my bike in 1995
I had a bonded Dynatech (Raleigh Special Products Division) from 1992. Glued into lugs. Good bike- finally gave up after 25 years when the seatstay cracked from internal corrosion
The 650 frame 96/97 that has
The 650 frame 96/97 that has just died was a warranty replacement of one of the glued Dynatechs. Came unglued where the downtube inserted into the headtube arrangement, probably cast. Purple it was.
Mountain bike. It’s only three years back I finally managed to complete the XTR, rear hub and I would have preferred the previous model. Lucky to find that NOS. (Laced to a Mavic ceramic XC717). But it was the fat pipe spindle. Nice idea, strong and light, though the bearings are too small, 3/16ths not a nice 1/4inch, and the freehubs are too delicate, as I have learnt to my cost with the XTs on my Getting to Work bike. Which I must now dig out of retirement.
Oh no! Horrible. Sorry,
Oh no! Horrible. Sorry, nothing to offer but commiseration.
One gets very attached to bikes …
I hope you get it back on the road soon 🙂
I hereby propose Walker’s law
I hereby propose Walker’s law: In an incident when a cyclist is driven into, there are an infinite number of reasons that people will use to blame the cyclist, irrespective of the actual realities of the incident.
The Daily Mail is not fit to
The Daily Mail is not fit to line a litter tray. I wouldn’t expose my kittens arses to such filth
Cycling Mikey has just posted
Cycling Mikey has just posted a video on YouTube of him spotting someone driving while reading an article about him.
Did he note whether that
Did he note whether that cancelled out the alledged “clicks for cash” scheme and thus protected the driver from prosecution?*
Maybe he should start selling a range of protective amulets – against the evil cam? Possibly they could be shaped like a phone – which at least might give their buyers an excuse for their lawyer to take a punt on in court?
* I’m aware that this wouldn’t be a danger in many places.
Tom’s descending: do try this
Tom’s descending: do try this at home. Practise, practise, practise. Find your limits and work on them. Find a better descender to follow. Go carefully. You will improve.
That one-way descent looks fantastic. One less hazard to worry about.
lesterama wrote:
Well I gave it a go but I ran straight into the dishwasher.
This is how to descend a hill
This is how to descend a hill
Nice trikes! Just add
Nice trikes! Just add mushrooms, turtles and a dinosaur and it’s there.